Bestselling Author John D. Spooner Releases his Guide for “New” Adults, No One Ever Told Us That: Money and Life Lessons for Young Adults

"You've completed your education, your couch surfing, and your internships—now it's time to grow up. You have a ‘real’ job, maybe a family, and maybe a mortgage; but you've been launched into an uncertain world"

No One Ever Told Us That: Money and Life Lessons for Young Adults (WILEY; June 2015; $27.95) is a series of essential life and financial lessons that every young adult needs to read before they embark upon their own life's adventures. Even with an advanced college degree, No One Ever Told Us That will help fill in the blanks and give readers the answers needed to become a thriving professional, develop financial security, and grow into their own best person.

“You've completed your education, your couch surfing, and your internships—now it's time to grow up. You have a ‘real’ job, maybe a family, and maybe a mortgage; but you've been launched into an uncertain world,” says Spooner. “You see the world differently when you spend your days supporting yourself and your family, and money management quickly becomes an integral part of everything you do. This useful guide shows you how to do what you need to do, find the people you need on your side, and fulfill your obligations to those who matter most to you.”

Designed as a guide for the real world, No One Ever Told Us That includes the concrete answers for dealing with the inevitable crises young adults will encounter along the way. When the reality of independence hits, many new adults are thrown into a sudden state of panic. This book is the guide through the storm, the handbook for adulthood, and a personal companion for the journey ahead, with insight such as:

Discovering what it takes to handle losing a parent, divorce, raising children, getting fired, relocating to a new city, and grappling with sibling rivalry.

Advice for managing everyday issues, including getting plumbers and contractors to come on time, deciding whether to own or rent, understanding the truth about nonprofit boards, and so much more.

How to gain a fresh perspective on the world as a grownup

Ways to assemble a personal, legal, medical, and financial support team

Learning essential lessons before suffering their consequences

Nothing in a young adults’ experience has ever prepared them for the responsibility of responsibility. They’ve been thrown into the deep end, the undertow is strong, and the stakes are high—it's time to start swimming.

Spooner adds, “This book is for all the new grown-ups, out in the world for long enough to have experienced some early bumps in the road and long enough to know how challenging the new century can be in all areas of your still-young lives. What I’ve learned has been mostly by trial and error, the hard way. I hope I can make your journey a little easier with lessons about many new challenges where you’re going to need fresh advice.”

Additional Information

A Conversation with John D. Spooner, Author of No One Ever Told Us That

What inspired you to write No One Ever Told Us That: Money and Life Lessons for Young Adults?

Over the last several years dozens of young people have come to me, either through parents or friends or from my writing, and they have all said the same thing: We don't have anyone mentoring us and we seem lost in a society of sound bites and endless yapping at us, trying to find out what we believe in or stand for. Mostly, we don't know. We need a lot of help getting advice from people we can trust about our futures

Filling in these gaps and providing tools to help these young people is why I've written this book. They need some street smarts, from people who have been in these struggles for a long time - and have the scar tissue to prove it- to maybe make it easier for the next generation.

Who should read this book?

Every young adult 25 to 40 plus, who is challenged by our increasingly anonymous world and needs practical advice in making themselves stand out in this climate in all aspects of life: in relationships, with job seeking, with interviews, with family, hiring lawyers, doctors, financial people who will care for you. It’s a roadmap for getting yourself noticed.

How did your own background and experience lead you to become an advocate for both financial and life advice?

I've watched over people's money for over 50 years and I've worked through 4 panics, from the Kennedy assassination to the meltdown of the financial system, so I've learned money lessons the hard way. As for life, I started writing as a novelist. And this book is my 11th. I know about characters and I understand human nature.

Are there any topics in this book that you just learned and wish you had known earlier in your professional life?

Yes. I wish I had known ' to have a little more Brooklyn in me.' I could have learned toughness a lot earlier in my life. It would do us all some good.

This book has over 50 topics. What was your favorite topic to write about? Why?

My favorite lesson to young people is “get your elders’ stories.” We love tales from the past, and need to know: who am I? Where did we come from? Mostly, people don’t think to ask about these things until the older generations are gone. Ask these questions now.

What question do you hear most from young adults seeking advice?

The young people I’ve met with mostly say, "I've never had a mentor and I don't have a career path. Can you help me?'

How is this book different from you previous bestseller, No One Ever Told Us That:Money and Life Letters to My Grandchildren?

This a book perhaps a bit darker and more important, because it deals with loss and career building and building your team to take care of you in adult ways: medical, legal and financial Also, it focuses on the crucial years of raising a family and building net worth. Most of the book is filled with lessons for after you've experienced the bumps that life hands us, experiences that newly graduated youngsters are not ready for.

What key message(s) do you hope readers take away?

You need, in this world of 7 billion people to position yourselves in ways that separates you from the crowd. No matter what you do, you have to create your own brand, your own way of making yourselves memorable. That's it folks.

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JOHN D. SPOONER (Boston, MA) is the only investment advisor/novelist in America. His bestselling nonfiction includes Do You Want to Make Money or Would You Rather Fool Around? as well as Confessions of a Stockbroker, Smart People, and Sex and Money. His novels include Class and The Foursome. His book No One Ever Told Us That: Money and Life Letters to My Grandchildren has been a Boston Globe #1 bestseller and ranked #2 on Amazon's bestselling business books list. For additional information, please visit http://johndspooner.com.